Ronald McNair

American - (
NASA)

Lost In Flight

Date of Birth: Oct. 21, 1950
Date of Death: Jan. 28, 1986

Ronald Erwin McNair was an American physicist and NASA astronaut. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and two children. His kids were Joy Charey Mcnair (Daughter) and Reginald Ervin Mcnair (son).

Spaceflight Record

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-41-B

Status: Success

Mission: Communications

STS-41-B was the tenth Space Shuttle mission and the fourth of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It deployed 2 communication satellites and inluded the first untethered spacewalk. It was also the first shuttle mission to land at Kennedy Space Center.

Space Shuttle Challenger / OV-099 | STS-51-L

Status: Failure

Mission: Human Exploration

The tenth mission for Challenger, STS-51-L was scheduled to deploy the second in a series of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, carry out the first flight of the Shuttle-Pointed Tool for Astronomy (SPARTAN-203) / Halley's Comet Experiment Deployable in order to observe Halley's Comet, and carry out several lessons from space as part of the Teacher in Space Project and Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP).

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. NASA have many launch facilities but most are inactive. The most commonly used pad will be LC-39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.